I Have Been Taking Tons of Photographs

I am sorry, I haven't been on here in quite some time, I did not mean to abandon my website or my followers, thanks for still hanging in there with me.  I need to get back to my sewing and quilting but I have been taking tons of photographs at least to keep myself occupied during this mega rut I have been in. I have been taking pictures people like my amazing boys who are growing way too fast.  They are both on Honor Roll and making me proud in the things they enjoy doing.  Watching them grow into independent and happy and healthy young men is my ultimate goal as a mom.  

Tanner, he is now 14 and this is him cooking for a school video project he had to do for school.  Big Eighth grader and Honor Roll Student =)

Trent, my baby will be 12 in a few months...WOW! Where is the time going?  Sixth grade and Honor roll!

 I also have been taking plenty of nature pictures and you can find them all on my Instagram page if you would like to see them, but here is a very sample of some right here as well.  

These were some beautiful Tulips I spoted in a store that were for sale for Valentine's Day <3

A pic recently of a road near my home after a snowfall =)

A macro shot of a bumpy pumpkin =) 

This is a picture from December!  They were growing outside even after a heavy frost!

Copper & Dug will be 3 years old next month! 

 And of course Copper and Dug too, these goofy Goldendoodles!  

Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy

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2015 March ~ My First Antique / Vintage ~ New to Me Singer Sewing Machine!

A few weeks ago I was at an estate sale and we walked in and immediately I spotted this beautiful wooden Singer Bentwood sewing machine case on the floor and I don't know what I was doing but I think I was trying to play it off like I just was not interested.  But it couldn't be more than the opposite, especially when the sales rep told us everything was half off today since it was Sunday.  So I wandered around looking around this home that seemed to be stuck in a time warp, it seriously had a tv stuck in the wall that must have been from the 60's but everything was like that, the furniture the bedding the kitchen items and very gratefully this sewing machine that I finally wandered back to was still there.  They helped me unlock it, YES, it even STILL has it's key and this machine was underneath the beautiful wooden box!   

After doing some research I figured out if was made in 1929.  It had the knee bar in the top of the case, the cord, the key and I am almost forgetting one other thing to tell you the amazing price I bought this for!  It cost me only $42.50!  It was half of $85.00 that it was marked at originally and I know I probably could have negotiated if I tried but I knew it was a deal and I wanted to run before they changed their mind.  The Estate sales representative asked me if I sewed and was happy to hear it would be staying with me since it had only been in their family.  She said the family was concerned a dealer would find it and just resell it.  Well, I am thrilled with my find, anyone else have deals like this fall into their lap or have a fun story they want to share about their antique / vintage machines?  

Look at that gorgeous plate!  =) 

Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy

Digging up Some Sweet Potatoes Today

Update:  October 25, 2014:  I will post many new pics soon but with the help of my two sons and a friend of my youngest over the huge mound was concurred and 3 different potato varieties were uncovered.  I still think there are more hiding in the dirt mountain, we found about half of a wheelbarrow full of potatoes!  So nothing to complain about that is for sure!  =) 

Yield of Sweet Potatoes from one plant!

This morning I went out determined to find sweet potatoes in my gigantic hill where they were planted and after several attempts of digging holes like a blind squirrel we finally went to the local hardware shop for a big potato fork thing that looks like a shovel but with the fork on the end (hehe, nice description, I know).  Then I managed to easily find some yummy sweet potatoes in the huge potato hill in our yard.  My plan was to cook some up for dinner tonight but I keep hearing I should cure them before eating them to bring out the sweetness and to help them last even longer. Anyone else starting to pull up their sweet potatoes?  I would love to hear how you cure yours, please leave comments below.

I have plenty more to dig up, enough for all my friends =)

Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy

My 4 Boys are Really Growing!

The puppies are growing!  That meaning my two human son's and my two furry ones!  Where does the time go, that is what I want to know?!?   Here is a link if you would like to go back and see how much they have all grown in the last 7 months. 

I hope everyone has a beautiful winter holiday and that this coming year is even better than the last!  

 Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy

My Oldest Son is 12 Today!

Twelve years ago today I became a mom for the first time and was given one of the most amazing gifts.  Tanner has such a warm, loving and giving heart within him.  Each day he makes me proud as I watch and wonder about the man he will become.  I am blessed to have you and your little brother in my lives and am grateful for each and every day we share!  Love you always & forever, Mommy xox

Contacting Me =)

Hi everyone...I have been asked for my mailing address a few times and now I am ready to include one directly on my blog =)

Please, please don't junk mail me, I am not looking for coastal land off of Arizona...hahaha or any adult dating info...I am married and do realize that Arizona does not touch the Pacific...LOL =P

Tiffiny Quilts aka Smilie Mommy
PO Box 81
Rising Sun, MD 21911
USA

tiffinyquilts@gmail.com 

Crazy LaLa Type of Busy...

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a bit.  Many things going on in my world and I hope to be able to share soon with pictures.  Everything is going well and all 4 boys are getting big.  My youngest just turned 9, my oldest graduated 5th grade and the puppies are now 3 months old!  Hugs & smiles to you all!  =D

Introducing Two New Members of the Family!

When you hear the description, "the pitter patter of little feet" ...What is the first thing you think of?  Babies most likely, right?  Well, our pitter patter involves late night changes (aka:  being taken outside) wait for it, don't call social services yet...giggling.  Plenty of kisses, some much wetter then others.  =P And weight gain of at least 2 pounds a week!  The babies I am introducing are Copper & Dug and they are our 8 week old, F1B - Golden Doodle puppies!  (You can click here to read more about what the F1B Golden Doodle means).

Copper in the front & Dug in the back (ignore the shredded paper please)

The best thing and craziest thing we decided at a momentary loss of brain cells was to get 2 puppies.  It has been a blessing in that they have each other when I run out, so the separation anxiety has been a mute point. and have each other as playmates and pillows, 24/7.  The downside but we really did expect it, was double the mess-making.  We figured we would get the training out of the way all at once instead of waiting to introduce another puppy and restart the process again. 

 These are my favorite moments so far, seeing how much the boys all love each other.  They also have been great helpers already by feeding, helping me bathe and even cleaning up their "messes" if you know what I mean.  (pinches my nose).

My youngest, caught looking like he was about to make a mess, when he was actually cleaning up one =P

 Keep on going to see more pictures!  (Click on "READ MORE" below)  =)

The type of pen we are using for Copper and Dug =)

My 1 Year Blog / Website Anniversary! Dream it!

WoW!!!  Where has the time gone?  It feels like just yesterday when I was floundering around on my blog trying to figure out how to move widgets and gizmos around, oh yeah THAT did happen yesterday!  HaHa!  But really, in a way it feels like I have always had my blog.  I am so grateful for the friends who encouraged me to start it.  The friends who helped me get it going and the friends I still go to when I need advice on where the widgets and gizmos go.  I couldn't have done it without you!

The things that I have done in the past year, of course in my mind, I feel like I haven't done enough.  You ask my husband he would likely agree unfortunately lol :-)  I have all of these ideas floating in my head, and I get the most accomplished as I sleep, yes, I mean while I dream.  Those quilts come out perfect, the binding on simple as pie and then I wake up and then I realize I still need to get it finished.  Ohhhh and did I mention, I also win awards in my sleep for my quilts, they are my dreams you know...hehehe!  

So if I follow the inspirational quote up on my oldest son's bureau by Walt Disney that I bought him a few years back that says "Dream ~ All dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."  This encourages me to remember that my dreams are achievable as long as I keep trying.  As I wander back downstairs towards the kitchen and look up on the wall and yet see another quote by Walt Disney regarding dreams, it says, "Dream ~ If you can dream it you can do it."  It reminds me yet again I need to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  Don't tell anyone I said, well typed that out loud, that is really hard to admit and especially put right out there admitting my flaws and imperfections.  But all I can do is be aware of it and move on from there.  And push the negativity to the curb.....Boooooo-Yah! 

So, I guess this past year with the start of this blog, my Twitter account, Google+, Pinterest (addictive) and my Facebook quilting page it has been about pursuing a dream and even though I have no idea how close I am to reaching it, I know that I am not finished until I get to that finish line no matter how many times that will be and run laps around the ballpark to thank all of my great friends and family for their encouragement, kind words and support along the way!  Thank you for my first year and I am looking forward to the next 99+! xox

Hugs & Smiles, Tiffiny ~ Smilie Mommy

Back again...this time from Tennessee! :-)

Up the Strings it says  "Honky~Tonk Heroes"

So I was in Tennessee for the last 3 days.  I have to be honest I am not really a country girl, meaning the music, it was really interesting finding a channel on the radio, it actually ends up growing on you though...haha!  But I do love the southern hospitality & charm, their awesome accents, sweet potato fries and the evil but incredibly delicious cookies our hotel had creeping out at every corner waiting for us.  I was keeping my eyes open for the perfect pair of boots for me, but perfect and too much $ clashed, I like bargains and wouldn't be willing to spend $300-$700 for a pair of cow girl boots!  
I even managed to get out to a few quilt shops.  To protect the guilty, I will leave the store unnamed but it was a bit rustic, dusty (dirty), out of date and can I say (cough cough) smoky inside.  It was the 1st one I visited while in Tennessee so it had me nervous for my next adventures of shop hops of the day, but hey, I am always up for an adventure.  This one just happened to have two yapping dogs included for free in the package.  This should be my last trip for a bit.  I am grateful for my husband's work trips and that I get to tag along, but it does put a glitch into getting any sewing done.  With that said....

Elvis has left the building! ;-)

Back again~ 2 new quilt shops, beaches, food and did I mention quilt shops?! :-)

Ok, so I did warn you I wasn't done with the traveling quite yet.  Just didn't tell you it was so going to be so soon.  Sneaky me....giggles!  :-)  Ok, so the people that take care of our attack hamster know when we are gone, that is the important part and our neighbors the cops, I should bake them some cookies or better yet quilt them up something like these simple coasters I made a while back!  So again, I need to somehow catch up on the pictures I keep taking.  Here is one cool one I took while the hubby was driving us to the hotel from the airport in Florida. 

 I didn't think it turned out too bad since he was probably going around 70 miles per hour and all!  The skies were beautiful most of the time we were there.  I managed to get to two great quilt shops but behaved myself compared to my last trip when I was in Cape Cod.  I am very grateful for my husband's work conferences and my lack of fear of being out of state and following a GPS.  Ok, I need to run and pick the boys up from school, I am looking forward to catching up on this blog and most of all touching my sewing machine again!  Thanks for hanging in there with me, the traveling for this year is soon over :-)

I am alive, just to let you know :-)

Here is just a glimpse of the fabrics I feel like I almost "stole from Cape Cod!  :-)

If anyone has been wondering where in the world Tiffiny has been, I am still here, alive and kicking :-) So sorry I haven't blogged in it feels like forever.  :-)   I have been traveling with my husband with his job, which has given me many things to blog about, believe me when I can grab some time to do it, I took tons of pictures of our trip to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard!  While there I also was able to meet one of my Quilty friends, Sally who lives up that way and we went to a quilt shop together and had a blast picking on each other and some how I managed to even find perverted fabric I thought she should buy, hahaha!  An added bonus for me when I travel with him is I go hunting for quilt shops when he is busy in his conferences, which this last time I needed a suitcase for the trip back, but to my defense the fabric was between $.99 & $4.00 a yard!  One store was going out of business and another was having a mega sale to try to keep up it seems, I was in quilty world heaven we can say!  So when I can get caught up, which is hopefully sometime in the near future I will be posting pictures of all of my goodies.  Until then, thanks for waiting for me and chat soon.   :-)

Bigger pic, since a few friends told me the pic above was to much of a tease :-)

2012 ~ August ~ Quilting from H-E-L-L :-)

{{{Warning, venting is ahead...haha}}}  Okay, so my story should hopefully help you next time you may be letting someone quilt (the sandwiching of the quilt top, batting and backing) something that you have worked hard on and are in a situation where you need someone else to quilt the tops for you.  My story begins over a year ago.  I made this Labyrinth quilt pattern in a king size and was so excited to be putting something on our very own bed.  I used a Quilter who had also been my instructor once in a class.  First thing I learned, look at your quilt before you hand over the $ cash $!  She meets me, hands me a bag with my now quilted comforter in it and I was so excited and naive I didn't say, may I look at it?  So she hands me the bill, I write her a check and go home.  I place it on the bed, knowing it still needs binding and take pictures.  Then I start noticing problems with it, where she must have been having tension issues.   But basically big and small loops on both sides that could easily have a finger or toe stuck under them and it would make it worse. So then, called her, told her the issue, which she attempted to deny was even possible until the proof was in front of her, seeing the 50+ pins all over it, front and back with mistakes.  So she proceeded to rip it all out and re-quilt it.  She then calls me a few months later to inform me it happened again, what would you like me to do?  Ughhhhh, so we go back and forth in email and she suddenly drops off the planet for almost a year.  So I finally heard back from her about 2 weeks ago after writing her on a whim again.  At this point I just wanted it back and what ever money I could get refunded to me.  So I am in the process of ripping it all out just so it can get done properly.  I need to buy a new quilt back and batting, she squared mine off, leaving that 4 inches needed on all sides, no longer available.  I purchased Batiks, and the backing was 11.5 yards, so I bought an entire bolt!  So it will be fun finding something else that goes as nicely as it had before.  Seriously, that part will be fun for me...LoL!  :p  So here are some pictures of my poor quilt.

So please feel free to share / vent with me about quilting issues you have heard or dealt with yourself.  Leave me a comment, just leave out the offender's name please :-)  I would have been willing to reuse her if she had handled things differently then she had.  Last thing she said to me was it ended up being a bobbin issue, and there was no way she could have known.  I didn't respond, all I kept thinking was all you needed to do was look at it every once in a while and seen it was happening...LoL! :p  Anyway, everything happens for a reason and it will all work out.  Live & Learn right? :-)

PS...Another thing I learned was make sure your quilter has insurance for situations even worse then mine where an actual hole is in your item.

What my quilt looks like on my bed, maybe one day hehe :p

Trip to Virginia ~ 2012 July

Well, we had our first semi-camping trip about a week ago.  Semi meaning we were on a "camp ground" but we rented a travel trailer.  We considered bringing a tent to also rough it a bit more, but if we had we would have been flooded out by the huge thunder storms we were in the middle of.  I also managed to bring my sewing machine and work on the paper piecing for this quilt I have started and I visited two different quilt shops on one of our rainy days!  Just to warn everyone I have posted a bunch of pictures in this post. :-)

My only pic the trailer we rented :)

We made it to JellyStone Park :-)

Yes, he is doing what you think as his big brother looks on like he is crazy.

I had to go out for the sunrise!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love sunset & sunrises!

My oldest, very excited he is driving the golf cart.

We then let my youngest have a go at it!

Eerie looking sky

We had so much rain while we were there.

Hat from Colonial Williamsburg

Bathroom sign, while there :-)

VA Followers, let me know if you know the name of this please :-)

I spotted a rainbow :)

My husband, being drenched by all of the kids on the water ride LoL! He even asked the ride operator to blow her whistle! :-)

Serenity, the ship in the distance.

crepe myrtles - Pink & white :-)

Go-carts, pics of each in the lead to be fair, haha :-)

Notice he is on alone? Youngest asked to get off after 1 loop around.

Out front of the VA Living Museum

Very hungry, snapping turtle :->

The rarely seen, double headed snapping turtle! :-)

Such an actor :-)

I spy a....

Beavers grooming each other :-)

Jellyfish :-)

Keep going, almost done....zzzzzzzzzzz....sorry about all of these pictures :-)

Lobster, he had no fear he would be dinner :)

Black Snake shedding :)

I had heard this before, very cool!

Took this pic while in a bathroom, I had to do it! haha

Last morning, view from trailer.

Sunrise view from a puddle :-)

Washington Monument from a truck going 65mph+ hah

Ice Anyone? Read below haha

Okay, the story of the ice goes like this, I walk in from the garage and notice that the ice tray catcher thing (technical term) is sitting in the sink, hmmmmmm, I wonder if possibly?  So I grabbed a towel, thankfully and laid it out on the floor under the freezer door.  I then opened it up and surprise, the ice maker was making ice while we were away!  I know what you are thinking, but I can not take credit for this one, I will not blatantly point the finger at (clears throat), my husband, because that wouldn't be fair...giggles.  He had filled the cooler before we left with some items that needed to stay cold for our trip and may have forgotten to put it back in the freezer when he was finished.  So this is my story to and from our trip to Virginia.  I hope it gave you a chuckle or two.  :-)